Sunday, February 15, 2015

To Wrap or Not To Wrap? The answer is wrap, always wrap.

I want to talk about something that has been on my heart for awhile. The issue that has been weighing on me is when I'm watching a movie or TV show and a black woman is sleeping and/or getting out of bed and there's nothing on her head. No head scarf, no satin bonnet, nothing just sleeping all willy nilly. It drives me crazy. I don't know a black woman who doesn't sleep with something on her head. No matter the texture of her hair if a black woman goes to sleep without anything on her head she will wake up the next morning with a head full of dry hair sticking up all over the place. It's just not realistic to show a black woman in bed with her hair running free and every time I see it, it drives me crazy.

Now I realize a woman with a scarf or satin bonnet on her head may not be the most attractive image to show on screen but it provides a realistic portrayal of a black woman. Whenever I see a black woman with a naked head in bed I think whoever wrote that scene must not know any black women in real life. Oh yeah the same goes for showing a black woman in the shower without a shower cap. Unless she's washing her hair in the shower a black woman is not going to risk getting her hair wet by taking a shower without a cap. I saw a recent episode of Being Mary Jane and Gabrielle Union was in the shower with a shower cap on and I wanted to stand up and applaud.

While we're on the subject of black women's hair on TV how did Olivia on Scandal go from curly and wild to straight and laid in that warehouse the other week? Did her captors have a pressing comb and flatiron on deck, were there Dominican women on hand to give her a blowout, did they have a tub of relaxer on standby? I need answers Shonda Rhimes, I need answers.

The moral of the story for TV and movie writers, directors and producers get a real black friend or two and educate yourself before you write that bedroom or shower scene. Thank you.

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